Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant

The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant was a 10,747-acre U.S. Army propellant-manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas, built under a contract signed May 11, 1942. It produced more than 200 million pounds of propellants during World War II — employing as many as 12,067 people — and was reactivated for the Korean War (1951–1960) and Vietnam War (August 1965–June 1971), when it produced another 145 million-plus pounds of propellants. The plant closed in 1993. After transfer to Sunflower Redevelopment Group in 2005, more than 6,000 acres were annexed into De Soto in 2022 and rebranded as Astra Enterprise Park, which in July 2022 became the site of a $4 billion Panasonic EV-battery plant.¹

Overview

Location	De Soto, Johnson County, Kansas
Original size	10,747 acres (43.492 km²)1
Contract signed	May 11, 19421
WWII output	>200 million lbs of propellants; up to 12,067 employees1
Korean War	Reactivated 1951–19601
Vietnam War	Reactivated August 1965 – June 1971; produced >145 million lbs of propellants1
Closed	19931
Transferred	2005 to Sunflower Redevelopment Group1
Annexed	2022 — over 6,000 acres into De Soto1
Rebranded	Late 2022 as Astra Enterprise Park1
Panasonic plant	Announced July 13, 2022 ($4B EV battery); construction began December 2022; 4,000 projected direct jobs1

History

Construction of the plant began immediately after the U.S. Army contract was signed May 11, 1942, siting a 10,747-acre propellant complex on farmland outside De Soto in Johnson County, Kansas. Throughout World War II the plant produced more than 200 million pounds of propellants, at peak employing as many as 12,067 people.¹

Cold War era

The facility was reactivated for the Korean War (1951–1960) and again for the Vietnam War from August 1965 to June 1971, producing more than 145 million pounds of propellants during the Vietnam period.¹

Closure and redevelopment

The plant closed in 1993. The U.S. Army transferred the site to Sunflower Redevelopment Group in 2005. In 2022, more than 6,000 acres were annexed into the City of De Soto, and the site was rebranded as Astra Enterprise Park in late 2022.¹

On July 13, 2022, officials announced that Panasonic had selected Astra Enterprise Park for a $4 billion electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility. Construction began December 2022; the project is expected to generate 4,000 direct jobs.¹

Sources

See also

• de-soto-ks
• johnson-county-ks
• kansas-river
• Wiki

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.” — asserts: location in De Soto, Johnson County, Kansas; original size 10,747 acres (43.492 km²); contract signed May 11, 1942 with immediate construction start; WWII production >200M lbs propellants and up to 12,067 employees; Korean War reactivation 1951–1960; Vietnam War reactivation August 1965 – June 1971 producing >145M lbs propellants; plant closure 1993; transfer to Sunflower Redevelopment Group in 2005; 2022 annexation of >6,000 acres into De Soto; late-2022 rebranding as Astra Enterprise Park; Panasonic $4B EV battery plant announcement July 13, 2022, construction start December 2022, 4,000 projected direct jobs. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵